Two nights of racing are scheduled for next week at Jackson Motorplex.
First up will be the initial Bank Midwest IMCA Series event of the season on Tuesday, June 16, followed by the $10,000-to-win Border Battle featuring the Merle Johnson Memorial Race on Friday, June 16. More than $15,000 has been added to the total payout that night.
Five classes are slated to run at the June 16 event, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Hobby Stocks and IMCA Sport Compacts.
The other date for the series is Tuesday, July 25.
Then it’s the Border Battle event on June 16.
That show features 410 winged sprint cars and the Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Car Series.
The Merle Johnson Memorial main event that night will pay $1,000 to start. Additionally, the quick qualifier will earn a $300 bonus, each heat race winner will receive a $100 bonus and the hard charger in the A Main receives a $250 bonus from Quick Change Rebuilds.
Also, Wyffels Hybrids has added $1,000 to the Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Car Series A Main purse.
Also taking place during the Border Battle weekend are a $7,000-to-win races on Saturday, June 17 at Knoxville Raceway and an event on Sunday, June 18 at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon.
The Border Battle opener is the lone 410 sprint car event at Jackson Motorplex prior to the famed AGCO Jackson Nationals featuring the World of Outlaws Aug. 17-19.
Fairmont Raceway
Friday was Kids/Bike Night at Fairmont Raceway.
Eric Dailey (Armstrong) won the 15-lap C&B Operations Modified feature, followed across the line by Ryan Wetzstein (West Concord) and Roger Nielsen (Fairmont)(.
Winning the heat race was Josh Ruby (Lakota).
Finishing first in the 15-lap State Bank of Fairmont Stock Cars feature was Derek Green (Granada). Luke Sathoff (Jackson) was second and Justin Luinenburg (Reading) third.
Heat winners were Luke Sathoff and Blake Luinenburg (Reading).
Jared Boumeester (Waseca) was the winner of the 15-lap Nutrien Ag B-Mods feature. Mark Noble (Blooming Prairie) finished second and Jaedon Erickson (Sherburn) third.
Heat winners were Boumeester and Tianna Mithun (New Richland).
Taking the top spot in the 12-lap Finke Excavating Hobby Stocks feature was Greg Sidles (Fairmont). Placing second was Brian Lund (Northwood, Iowa) with Parker Anderson (Welcome) third.
Heat winners were Trevor Iverson (Welcome) and Anderson.
Winning the Extreme Powdercoating Tuners 12-lap feature was Brandon Hartmann (Fairmont). Jason Bolte (Odin) finished second Dale Gatton (Fairmont) third.
Jason Bolte won the lone heat race.
Next Friday is Make A Wish/Cancer Awareness Night.
Kaleb Johnson
Kaleb Johnson (Sioux Falls) had one of his better weekends this season.
He had a career-best 410 winged sprint car result at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday as he finished eighth. He followed that with a second podium of the season at Huset’s Speedway on Sunday.
“I wish we could qualify a little bit better at Knoxville, but I feel we’re getting the car better for later in the night when the track slicks off,” he told Inside Line Promotions. “We’re still kind of struggling at Huset’s. I’m still not completely comfortable yet and we have some things to work on, but I’ll take a third-place finish any day of the week.”
Johnson qualified 16th quickest at Knoxville. He then won a heat race from the pole position to garner the 10th starting spot in the A Main.
He timed 11th at Huset’s and won another heat race to advance into the feature redraw. Luck was on Johnson’s side as he plucked the No. 1 to garner the pole position in the main event.
“I didn’t get the greatest start and was second right away,” he said. “We’ve been battling the car off the corner. It’s just been really tight. I will say we did get the car a little better. There’s certain laps it leans on the right rear heavily and makes it uncomfortable. We’ve been working on that the last few weeks. That just takes time and laps.”
The third-place finish was Johnson’s fourth top five of the season.
This week, Johnson plans to race on Tuesday at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb., with the High Limit Sprint Car Series before joining the World of Outlaws on Friday and Saturday at Knoxville.
He’ll then cap the weekend with a race on Sunday at Huset’s.
Huset’s
Chase Randall, John Hoing and Blaine Stegenga captured feature wins at Huset’s Speedway on Sunday.
Randall (Waco, Tex.) became the track’s first repeat winner this season with his second Cressman Sanitation 410 Outlaw Sprint Cars win. He led all 25 laps and held off 13th-starting Noah Gass (Mounds, Okla.) to capture the triumph by 0.398 seconds.
Kaleb Johnson (Sioux Falls) was third.
Stegenga (Valley Springs, S.D.) claimed his first career victory at Huset’s in the Wyffels Hybirds RaceSaver Sprint Car class.
Jeremy Huish (Jetmore, Kan.) finished second and Dusty Ballenger (Harrisburg, S.D. third).
John Hoing (Hartford, S.D.) earned his first-ever win at Huset’s Speedway in the Nordstrom’s Automotive Late Model Street Stocks division.
Huset’s Speedway point standings
As of June 4
Top 10
Cressman Sanitation 410 Outlaw Sprint Cars
1. Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Australia 187
2. Matt Juhl, Tea, S.D. 184
3. Chase Randall, Waco, Tex. 181
(tie) Garet Williamson, Columbia, Mo. 181
5. Riley Goodno, Knoxville 166
6. Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks 163
7. Justin Henderson, Tea, S.D. 154
8. Christopher Thram, Sanborn 153
9. Ayrton Gennetten, Versailles, Mo. 152
10. Carson McCarl, Altoona, Iowa 146
Wyffels Hybrids RaceSave Sprint Cars
1. Cole Vanderheiden, Papillion, Neb. 146
2. Blaine Stegenga, Valley Springs, S.D. 137
3. Trevor Serbus, Olivia 133
(tie) Lee Goos Jr., Hartford, S.D. 133
5. Luke Nellis, Forest Lake 125
(tie) Dusty Ballenger, Harrisburg, S.D. 125
7. Sam Henderson, Sioux Falls 120
8. Andy Pake, Felton 111
9. Koby Werkmeister, Armour, S.D. 110
10. Brandon Bosma, Rock Rapids 106
Gravel wins fifth feature
David Gravel (Watertown, Conn.) posted his fifth World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of the season Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks.
The Big Game Motorsports driver ran second for most of the race before he found a lower lane of rubber, which catapulted him into the lead with five laps remaining. He then held onto the top spot in traffic to win by approximately a quarter of a second.
Gravel qualified second quickest overall and then won a heat race from the pole position. He capitalized on drawing the No. 2 during the dash draw, winning the race to earn the pole position for the main event.
The weekend concluded on Saturday at Ogilvie Raceway, which hosted the World of Outlaws Big ‘O’ Showdown. Gravel timed in sixth quickest and won a heat race. A sixth-place result in the dash started him on the outside of the third row in the A Main.
Gravel quickly worked into a podium position. Unfortunately, he was collected in a crash in turns one and two near the midpoint of the feature. Gravel was trapped in the work area under caution, but fortunately another caution was called before a lap was completed and he returned to the track. Gravel rallied from the back of the lead-lap cars to salvage an 11th-place finish.
This weekend presents a doubleheader at Knoxville Raceway, where Gravel has 10 career wins.
World of Outlaws point standings
As of June 3
Top 10
Carson Macedo, Lemoore, Calif. 3636
Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, Calif. 3626
David Gravel, Watertown, Conn. 3614
Logan Schuchart, Hanover, Penn. 3482
Donny Schatz, Fargo 3448
Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, Oho 3436
Giovanni Scelzi, Fresno, Calif. 3370
Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, Ind. 3328
Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, Penn. 3172
Jacob Allen, Hanover, Penn. 3102
Deer Creek
Two local drivers traveled to southeast Minnesota to run at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley Saturday.
Parker Anderson (Welcome) competed in the USRA Hobby Stocks and placed eighth in the feature after finishing fifth in his heat.
Lyle Sathoff (Sherburn) was in the USRA Modifieds class and was 15th in the feature and eighth in his heat.